


the light is coming to give back everything the darkness stole

by Drhair76



Series: the night is dark but the moon is bright [4]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Cause I didn't feel like bashing him, Claustrophobia, Fuck Reginald Hargreeves, Gen, Good Brother! Luther Hargreeves, I wrote Luther the way I wanted instead of the way he is in tua, Klaus Hargreeves Deserves Better, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Klaus Hargreeves-centric, Protective Allison Hargreeves, Protective Diego Hargreeves, Protective Number Five, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-09
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-11-13 10:42:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18030215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drhair76/pseuds/Drhair76
Summary: But now that Klaus was actually here, stuck in his younger body, having to deal with his father and sober, he realized that it wasn't going to be as simple as Five made it sound.But then again, when was anything ever simple?or, the one where they end up traveling back in time and their father tries his to offer 'special training' to Klaus





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> guys, expect all the angst this week cause I finished three whole stories and am planning four more

After Five sent them all back in time, Klaus figured that things would be easier. 

They already knew what would happen and they knew what they had to do.They just had to ensure that Vanya's self esteem grew and flourished, shut down Leonard Peabody and hopefully keep Ben and Five around. When it was put like that, it sounded pretty simple.

 But now that Klaus was actually here, stuck in his younger body, having to deal with his father and sober, he realized that it wasn't going to be as simple as Five made it sound.

But then again, when was anything ever simple?

They couldn't really just go up to their father and accuse him of both physical and emotional child abuse and force him to treat Vanya with the care she deserved because they all looked like thirteen year olds. So they had go continue with the academy. Training, missions and being bossed around by the sorriest excuse for a parent on the planet.

 The training was just as brutal as Klaus remembered it. Because they were thirteen, their powers still hadnt fully developed yet. Instead of blaming that on puberty, Reginald decided that it must be all their fault. 

They either weren't quick enough, or they weren't smart enough, or they weren't strong enough. 

And eventually, Klaus found himself facing the age old ruse of 'extra training'. 

"The rest of you go off to shower and tidy up for dinner." Reginald said, waving Klaus' siblings off. "You, number four, come with me." 

"Where is he going?" Ben said suspiciously. 

Their father frowned, but just chalked Ben's question up to curiosity.

 "If you must know, he will be taking part in some extra training." 

Thankfully this time, Luther didn't shoot him a jealous look like he always did before when he heard 'extra training'. In fact, he looked panicked and worried. 

Five's feet were shifting and his hands were clenched at his sides as if he could hardly stop himself from teleporting over and grabbing Klaus away from their father himself. Allison had a hand on Vanya's while the other rested on the small of Luther's back, clearly as a reminder that they were still children, unable to physically fight their father. Luther looked pained and Klaus made a mental note to talk to Luther about putting everyone else's hardships on his shoulders. Diego was barely holding it together, his teeth bared and his shoulders shaking with anger. The only thing keeping him from losing it was Ben, who had a trembling hand on his elbow. 

For a split second, Klaus felt warm. 

His family cared about him. They may have been pretty terrible at showing it conventionally, but they really did care about one other. 

They might even _love_ each other. 

Klaus sighed in relief but cold fear gripped him when his father clamped a hand down onto Klaus' shoulder and began maneuvering him away from them. 

"He doesn't need training." Luther said calmly, stepping forward slightly. "His powers are perfectly leveled for his age." 

To anyone else, it may seem like Luther didn't care that Klaus was about to get thrown into a mausoleum and left to 'get over his irrational fear', but Klaus could see the way his shoulders tensed and his eyes narrowed. 

"I don't want to hear it Number one." Reginald scolded, making Luther flinch back slightly. "You don't know a single thing about the scientific research that I do." 

"But I do." Five spoke up, taking a step forward. His voice was level and he reached a hand out and took Klaus' elbow in a loose hold, gently tugging Klaus closer to him. "Luther's right and you know it." 

Reginald's eyebrows raised in shock. He was clearly not used to his 'children' standing up for themselves, let alone for each other.  

Quite honestly, Klaus wasn't used to it either. He may not have expected them to just allow their father to walk all over them, but he definitely wasn't expecting them to put up a fuss about him. 

Unfortunately, Reginald's shock only lasted for a split second before he got angry.

"Back up Number Five." Reginald snapped but Five didn't move. If anything his hand tightened around Klaus's elbow in blatant show of defiance. 

Their father took a menacing step forward and Klaus could hear Five's breath catch. Instead of allowing Five to take the fall for him, Klaus stepped in between the two of them and pulled his elbow from Five's hold. 

"Five doesn't know what he's talking about." Klaus said shakily.  

"Klaus, what the hell-" 

"He doesn't have my powers. He can't see where my inferiorites lie." Klaus forced himself to stand tall, even whe. his father's cold gaze made him want to run and hide.

His father nodded and the hand came back down onto his shoulder, successfully pulling him away from his siblings and towards the source of his nightmares. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Down in this dark room, he'd end up suffocated by all the death that surrounded him. 
> 
> And maybe it was what he deserved.  If he would have just done what Reginald asked, then he wouldn't need 'special training'. 
> 
> If he was just better-

Time seemed to drag. 

Klaus was so paralyzed with fear that he couldn't remember exactly how long his father used to keep him in here. Was it four hours? Was it six? Was it eight? 

It could've been ten for as much as Klaus knew. Just spending five minutes in here made his heart pound. 

It only took about half an hour before the ghosts came out. They packed in on him from all sides, forcing him to scramble against the cold stone into the corner. There were too many to count and they were all screaming, pushing, pressing. 

After Klaus moved out, he promised himself he'd never be sober enough to have to deal with it all.

But there was no drug in the world that could numb him enough to deal with this. 

He used to love hiding in dark places for hide and seek. He'd always be the second to last one found (The first being Five, but that was only because he cheated.) He would squeeze his skinny body in tight nooks and crannies that no one would ever think to look in. Sometimes, going into a dark closet or tight space was calming for him, he read that pressure on all sides increased the release of serotonin. 

But after being trapped in here, he couldn't stand it. He opted to stay as far away from corners and closets as he could. He even had to get rid of some of his old turtleneck sweaters because it made him feel trapped. 

  Unfortunately the only thing Klaus could do was press himself as far as he could into the corner and squeeze his eyes shut. 

Ben had taught him some breathing exercises back in their old timeline. Breathe in for four seconds, hold for four seconds, breathe out for four seconds and hold for four seconds. 

Klaus tried that now, but the screams of a younger ghost made him lose count and he could've sworn he was choking. 

And he would, wouldn't he? 

Down in this dark room, he'd end up suffocated by all the death that surrounded him. 

And maybe it was what he deserved.  If he would have just done what Reginald asked, then he wouldn't need 'special training'. 

If he was just  _better_ -

There was another teeth chattering scream and Klaus bit back a whimper and pulled his knees up to his chest. 

He dug his fingernails into his palms, the pain grounding him for just a moment before another ghost wailed in his face. She had a slit across her neck, and rough burn patches all over her face. She brought up blood covered hands to swipe at his face and Klaus leaned away from her, gasping for breath, shutting his eyes so tight that it hurt.

He couldn't do it, he couldn't, please someone _just let him out-_

 He jolted when he felt a hand on his arm. His eyes shot opened and he lashed out wildly, catching whoever grabbed him in the face with his nails. 

"Shit! Klaus! It's me!" Klaus gasped for breath as Five's face swam into view. He had a wild look in his eyes and a freshly bleeding scratch on his cheek. 

"Five?" Klaus reached a shaky hand out and sobbed when Five immediately took it. 

"Yeah. Come on, let's get out of here." 

That was all the warning Klaus got before he was warped into Vanya's bedroom. His stomach twisted and his legs shook as he stumbled into Diego's arms with a gasp. 

"I've got you K-klaus." Diego said, steadying him. "Calm down, We-we've got you." 

Klaus didn't even realize he was still trembling until Diego pointed it out. He forced a deep breath and clawed at Diego's arm. He needed space, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't- 

"Let him go, Diego!" Vanya commanded frantically. "He needs space."

"Okay, okay." Diego immediately let go of him and Klaus fell to the floor. 

He placed his forehead against the cool wood and focused strictly on getting as much air into his lungs as he could. Eventually, when he shaking stopped and he could feel something other than cold fear gripping him, he looked up to see his siblings watching him with worried eyes.

Vanya had an arm out, holding Diego back from pulling Klaus into a hug. Luther had a hand intertwined with a trembling Allison, who seemed to have just finished crying. Ben was pressed against Five's side, who was poking at the still bleeding scratch on his face gingerly. 

"How'd you guys get me out?" Klaus asked hoarsely. He pressed his forehead back against the wood, his body too exhausted to move.

"We had to rumor dad." Ben sighed and suddenly Allison's tears made sense. 

Klaus looked up in shock. "You rumored him for me?" Allison nodded. "Why? Why would you do that?" 

And despite the tear tracks that were on her face, her eyes light up in determination. "Because I wasn't going to let him lock up another one of my siblings." 

Vanya ducked her head slightly but kept her eyes trained on Klaus. "Are you okay?" She asked.

 "Yeah, better now." Klaus admitted. He pushed himself so he was sitting up and tried to stand, but his legs were still shaky.

They buckled and he almost fell to the ground but Five instantly teleported to his side. He wrapped an arm around his waist and Klaus practically sagged against him.

  "Obviously not that much better." Luther frowned and Klaus shrugged sheepishly. "You might want to rest." 

"You know what this means?" Ben asked excitedly and Luther raised an eyebrow. 

"That he might need medical attention?" 

"What? No." Ben scoffed. Then he paused and looked Klaus over again. "Well. Maybe. But what it really means is that it's blanket fort time!"

  Vanya chuckled and Five couldn't stop the smile that broke through. 

"I'll get cookies from mom." Diego said before rushing off. 

"Ben and I can get chairs." Vanya offered and Allison smiled. 

"Come on Luther," She said. "Let's get some blankets and pillows." 

"Klaus, are you sure you're okay? I think your hands are bleeding." Luther asked and Klaus glanced down at his hands to see red shaped crescent shapes cut into his palms. 

Klaus smiled weakly and waved Luther off. "M'fine. Just tired." 

Allison tugged Luther harder. "Even more of a reason for us to go get some blankets. Come on, we can go and get bandages too." 

Luther frowned but allowed himself to be pulled from the room despite still being convinced that Klaus needed to be checked over by someone who actually knew what they were talking about. 

"Alright then." Five groaned, helping an exhausted Klaus over to the bed. "Rest now," He gently pushed him onto the bed. "We can build the fort around you." 

"Hey, sorry for...that." Klaus said gesturing to Five's face. 

Five shrugged. "At least I know you can protect yourself with those." 

Klaus studied his nails for a second, the paint had chipped slightly. Most likely from the way he had scrambled against the stone walls, trying to get away from the ghosts. 

Klaus repressed a shudder and sighed. "True, they got chipped though which freaking sucks." 

Five looked thoughtful before he popped out of the room. Klaus was confused before he was back with Allison's nail polish bag in his arms. 

"Now they'll be fixed." Klaus watched as his brother pulled out some blue, pink, white and he frowned. 

"You don't even know how to paint someone's nails." 

Five frowned without looking up. "I've painted nails before. For some reason, nail polish is one of the things that can survive an apocalypse. Which, when you think about it, really fucking sucks cause it's inedible." 

Klaus had a million questions but decided to asked the most important one. "Why are you doing this?" Klaus asked, tilting his head slightly. 

It was like Five didn't even hear him, he still continued to stubbornly pull out different nail polish colors and compare them with one another. "I've painted Dolores' nails before. I couldn't find any purple like she wanted, but I made do with what I had. It was sticky and old, but it worked."

" _Five_. Why are you doing this?" 

Five's movements faltered and he sighed heavily. He shifted his weight from side to side awkwardly. The action contrasted some much with anything that Five would ever do that it caught Klaus' attention immediately.

"You should've let me take the fall for you Klaus. He wouldn't have done anything that I couldn't handle."  Klaus scoffed.

"Yeah. Like being forced to teleport until you throw up and pass out is just nothing." 

"Better than being locked in a mausoleum."  Five snapped. Klaus, knowing the anger wasn't directed at him, just rolled his eyes and smacked Five upside the head. 

"Hey!" Five exclaimed, running a hand through his hair. "What the hell was that for?"

"You were pulling a Luther." At Five's incredulous look, Klaus explained. "Feeling guilty for something that wasn't your fault. You do know that just because you time traveled us here, doesn't mean everything that happens to us is your fault right?" 

Five frowned and promptly decided to ignore Klaus' question. "But if I had just stood my ground-"

"He would've just put me in there after punishing you." Klaus said waving him off. "Seriously, it's better for everyone that I was down there." 

Five grit his teeth and glared for a second but at Klaus' eyebrow raise he relented. "Maybe. But you know we aren't letting you get sent down there ever again, right?"

Klaus remembered Allison's sacrifice and the way Diego's hold encircled him when he stumbled. He remembered the way Vanya ensured he has space when he felt suffocated and the way Luther and Ben's worried eyes tracked him when he slumped against Five. 

And he remembered Five's immediate grip on his hand when Klaus was desperately searching for warmth. 

Klaus' answer came with a sigh of relief. "Yeah." He nodded. "Yeah, I know."  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry, but Five has definitely painted Dolores' nails before
> 
>  
> 
> (also, lmk if you guys want an extra chapter where they just fluff it up cause I wouldn't mind writing it)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Wow, how much did you pay Five to do that?" Allison asked with a smirk. 
> 
> Klaus who was watching Five lazily, turned his exhausted gaze to his sister and smiled. "All I had to do was get thrown into a mausoleum, isn't that crazy?"
> 
> or, they're all soft...like they cannot get any softer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow. here's the fluff chapter. I realized while I was writing this that I'm not good as writing fluff,,, my expertise is more on the angsty side. (and if that doesnt tell you something about my mental state idk what will.) 
> 
> But! I enjoyed writing this very much <3

Rumoring dad was relieving in a weird way.

There was probably some form of deep seated psychological reasoning behind it, but Allison just simply chalked it up to the fact that Reginald Hargreeves was a horrible person and an even worse father. She didn't know anyone who deserved it more than him.

Once the deed was done and their father was slumped forward at his desk, Allison felt weak.

It was like the breath had been knocked out of her lungs and she was grateful for Luther's arm around her shoulders keeping her steady. She was slightly ashamed to admit that once it was over she cried. 

Not because she felt bad for Reginald. She would never feel bad for him. 

No, it was more so because Allison realized that she could've done that at any point during their childhood and saved her and her siblings a lot of grief. 

She could've stopped their torture years ago, starting with Vanya. If only she stopped him from locking her in that dark room, none of this would be happening. 

So when Five teleported back to Vanya's room with a shaky Klaus and he looked at Allison with such disbelief, she meant every word she said. 

If she could prevent their father from hurting them anymore than he already did, she would. Without hesitation. 

They came back into the room with as many pillows and soft blankets they could find to see Five taking off Klaus' nail polish. 

"Wow, how much did you pay Five to do that?" Allison asked with a smirk. 

Klaus who was watching Five lazily, turned his exhausted gaze to his sister and smiled. "All I had to do was get thrown into a mausoleum, isn't that crazy?"

"Don't joke about that." Luther huffed disapprovingly. 

"Yeah." Five chimed in. "Besides, I could still make this look terrible if I wanted." 

"Ah, you wouldn't do that." Klaus said dismissively. "You love me too much." 

And instead of Five purposely smudging up his work like Allison thought he would, he just rolled his eyes. "Yeah. I do."

Klaus faltered, obviously not expecting that answer and Allison chuckled. 

"Here's some bandages for your hands." Luther offered. Klaus went to take them but Five spoke up before he did. 

"Don't. You're going to mess them up." 

Luther frowned. "But he could get an infection."

"If you mess up his nails, you're going to have to redo them." 

So that's how Luther ended up repainting Klaus's thumb after messing it up. Allison tried to coach him through it but he was such a lost cause that eventually Five just pushed him out of the way to finish it himself. 

"Here we go!" Diego exclaimed, walking into the room with a large tray in his hands. 

"Okay, we asked you to get a plate of cookies, not a whole bakery." Allison laughed.

  "Mom was excited." He said with a sheepish shrug. He put the tray down and Klaus peeked over to see a plate of cookies, some cut melon and freshly baked croissants. "And besides, I wasn't gonna tell her not to bake it." 

"Are those croissants?" Vanya asked, Ben trailing behind her. They put their chairs down on the floor and she reached over and grabbed a still warm bun, biting into it with a happy smile. 

"Whoa. I like your nails." Ben complimented. Klaus smiled tiredly. 

"Thank you." 

Five, noticing his brother's tired gaze, stood and stretched.

"Let's start this fort." 

Putting up the fort and placing down the pillows and blankets only took about twenty minutes but when they were done, Klaus was asleep on the bed. 

"He fell asleep." Allison said. 

"Well, can you blame him?" Ben sighed. "He must've used up a lot of energy just being down there." 

"I was surprise he stayed awake as long as he did." Vanya said quietly. "Whenever I came out, I immediately passed out." 

Diego placed a hand on Vanya shoulder in silent comfort and she shot him a smile. 

"Well, we can just put him in the blanket fort." Luther gently scooped him up and frowned when he felt how light Klaus was. "Remind me to tell Grace to feed him more." 

"Noted." Five nodded. 

Luther laid Klaus down into the fort. Ben laid next to him and Klaus automatically shuffled into his warmth. Vanya curled against Klaus' other side and Allison followed her lead, pressing a leg against his. Diego went in next, tangling his feet with Ben's, who nearly shrieked at the coldness. Luther wrapped an arm around Allison's shoulders and she sighed happily. Five flipped off the lights and teleported so he was next to Ben, near Klaus's head. 

And when Klaus woke up a little while later, hands still shaking from a nightmare and found himself surrounded on all sides by warm familiar bodies, he was automatically calmed. 

"It's okay." Ben whispered tiredly, tangling their hands together. "We're here." 

Klaus sighed and allowed himself to be pulled back to sleep, comforted by the sound of his siblings' deep breathing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oml, Klaus is finally happy, and when Klaus is happy I'm happy. : )


End file.
